Summer visitors

When we came back from the US we had visitors the very next day - Steve, Dorthea, Caroline and Madeline arrived by train all the way from the Swindon area. This certainly distracted us from the jet lag (and was great fun). We did some wandering around Zurich, and the like, and lots of playing outside. We also fired up the BBQ, and enjoyed the end of summer weather (which is still here this week).




(and here are Bluet and Ilona at the end of our holiday, waiting at Chicago airport to fly home)

Back to school

Bluet started back at kindergarten yesterday. Now she is a somer vogelle (Butterfly) she gets to go two afternoons a week! Here she is yesterday just before her first day back

Wisconsin

After leaving St Louis, we spent a couple of days in Wisconsin with Emily's friends from university, including a trip to an old Native American encampment (Aztalan)







And then a night in the big city, Madison WI



(they were both v. tired when we arrived)

More cousins, St Louis, Ozarks and the Zoo

Some more days with Nate and Lila


We had some time for another trip to the cabin in the Ozarks, for a canoe trip with Lila and Nate (not pictured)


Here is Bluet eating honey nut cheerios, just like every other day of the trip



Bluet also invented a rope jumping game



After the farms, we went up to St Louis to go to the Zoo and the baseball

(Ilona and Bluet went up with Abatha, Scott, Nate and Lila a day early so we could pack up in peace. Here are the pictures we were sent to assure us they were ok)




  

Hello again

We are back from America (since last Thursday). In fact, it was one of our easiest overnight flights - the kids slept and/or watched TV without much fuss, and then because they were so tired, quickly adapted to the European time zone. So that was nice.

So lets see what the photos remind me of. First, we spent a lot of time at the cabin on the cow farm. We took 3 day canoe trips (there was too much risk of flash floods to stay overnight), and these were very fun - the kids loved jumping of rocks, swimming in the water and even learning to paddle a small canoe. Also, Bluet really got into fishing and caught a number of different fish with her kids fishing rob (as she calls it). However, I have no photos of these water based activities as I didn't want to drop my phone in the rivers. Here are some other things we did
One game the kids invented while they were away was to run round and around the Ozark cabin as fast as they could





Here is a photo Bluet insisted I take



Back on the other farm, more playing in the paddling pool, here with Thane doing his best American Ninja Warrior impression



Not pictured: Ilona falling down these stairs twice





Then the other cousins, Lila and Nate, came to visit



OK, more tomorrow